c. 1789. Washington Before Boston Medal. Baker 47B, Betts-542, Musante GW-09-P1. Original. Plain Edge. 69mm. Bronze. About Uncirculated Details.

Lot 5

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Coins, Medals & Sports Memorabilia by Doyle

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Coins, Medals & Sports Memorabilia

By Doyle

Nov 4, 2025

Set Reminder 2025-11-04 10:00:00 2025-11-04 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Coins, Medals & Sports Memorabilia https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/doyle/coins-medals-sports-memorabilia-21032 Auction of Coins, Medals & Sports Memorabilia on Tuesday, November 4, 2025 at 10am Featuring Rare Examples of Early Numismatic Washingtonia Consignments Art Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions Doyle info@doyle.com

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Lot Description

The first and among the most famous of the Comitia Americana medals, commissioned by the Continental Congress to commemorate notable military achievements in the Revolution, the Washington Before Boston medal celebrates General George Washington's expulsion of British forces from Boston. Using artillery appropriated from Fort Ticonderoga, Washington and the Continental Army took positions in Dorchester Heights in March 1776, forcing the British to withdraw over the course of ten days. Within days of the British evacuation, Congress voted to present Washington with a gold medal, the first medal authorized by that body. Pierre Simon DuVivier's design, reproduced countless times in the two-and-a-half centuries since its creation, features a bust of Washington, based on Jean-Antoine Houdon's famous bust, on its obverse and depicts Washington and officers overlooking Boston Harbor with cannons on its reverse. Though authorized in 1776, the medal would not become a reality for more than a decade. The exigencies of war and bureaucratic frictions delayed serious efforts at executing the medal to the mid-1780s, and dies were not completed until the spring of 1789. Washington's gold medals, and examples in silver and bronze, were produced later that year. The offered example was struck at a very early state of the obverse die, with the characteristic die chip around the SE and die cuds below GE and MO just discernible and no sign of the twall under Washington's hair or the pit in front of his chin that developed as the die wore. Large pitting on the reverse on the rump of Washington's horse is the result of either planchet flaws or post-mint damage. Obvious signs of rubbing around these crater-shaped marks, and on a few other point on the medal, indicate rubbing at one time. This medal was burnished some time ago but has retoned. A few unfortunate marks on the reverse rims. The Washington Before Boston Medal is among the most famous ever issued by the U.S. government and would be a prize for any American medal collector.Early American History Auctions, Inc. Autographs, Coins, Currency, Americana, December 11th, 1999, Lot #26.

Condition

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